


Ice Cream Wonderland

by DontRememberMyName



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Mushy Ending, Pining Niall, They love Friends, awkward boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-18
Updated: 2015-04-18
Packaged: 2018-03-24 15:51:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3774520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DontRememberMyName/pseuds/DontRememberMyName
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>‘I told Harry you deliver and he’d like a mocha frappuchino.’ He puts two pound fifty on the counter and his smirk gets bigger. ‘I’ve got to go now, ciao.’ He walks away without another look and I’m too stunned to protest. Louis knows we don’t deliver. Dick.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ice Cream Wonderland

It’s a sunny afternoon, mid July and I stare longingly out of the window from Bobby’s, my very own coffeeshop. No one seems to fancy a hot beverage when they can have ice cream at the place right across the street. The whole of London seems to choose Ice Cream Wonderland over Bobby’s and I can’t blame them. If I had the choice I would close up the shop and have a scoop of chocolate and tiramisu myself but there’s absolutely no way in hell I’d do that. One, there could be someone crazy enough to come in and order a coffee and two, there’s no way I’d talk to Harry.

Harry Styles, probably around twenty, twenty-one years old, already having opened a successful business and therefor quite intimidating but above that he’s absolutely jaw-droppingly gorgeous. My God is that man beautiful. I reckon it’s unfair to the rest world, that beauty of his.

I remember like it was yesterday, when he came into Bobby’s to hand out a couple of coupons for the staff for a free ice cream of choice at Harry’s Ice Cream Wonderland. It was clear as day he designed, printed and cut them out himself as the coupons looked no where near professional but they worked nonetheless. After his shift here at Bobby’s, Liam, co-worker and best friend extrodinaire went over to get himself a scoop of vanilla and came back in, moaning obscenely while praising Harry’s ice cream. It was March for crying out loud.

So now, it’s four months later and all of my three coupons are still tucked safely in my wallet. He handed me them that day with a wink and a smile that still have me daydreaming. And all I seemed to be able to do was blush and duck my head. First impression: Niall Horan nailed it.  
So his hair is long, till right past his shoulder, wavy and brown and it should be nowhere near as attractive as he makes it. His eyes are actually green and his jawline is like no other. He likes photography, black and white pictures, the tv-show Friends, puppies and ice cream. At least, that’s what his partially hidden Facebook profile told me. I don’t know what his relationship status is (taken probably) and if he likes boys, girls, both or none. I don’t know if he has siblings or if he has friends that post silly drunken pictures of him on his timeline. I do think he’s perfect for me though. If only I could stop being so awkward.

 

‘So, business is going good today I see?’ Louis, master of all things tea and other best friend, says. The door closes behind him as he walks over and sits down on a stool at the counter, holding his left hand out to me. ‘Got you a scoop of pineapple, since you’re you know, pining,’ he smirks, actually seeming proud of himself.

‘I am not,’ I lie. ‘And why is that even a flavour?’ Louis knows I always pick the pineapple off my pizza and put them on his plate.

‘Because Harry, you know, the owner of that place you’re staring at, likes all things fruit. He’s got flavours from banana to mango to pineapple and everything in between.’

‘Well that’s stupid and you can keep that. And stop dripping on the counter, thanks.’ I wipe the wooden surface and hand Louis a napkin.

‘You can get yourself an ice cream you do like. I can watch the place for a couple of minutes and you don’t even have to pay me for it.’ Louis offers, probably purely because he knows I’m going to decline. ‘I know you haven’t used your coupons. Harry’s told me.’

What? Harry’s told him what? ‘Harry told you what?’

‘That you haven’t come around yet and that he wonders why, asked if you don’t like ice cream with the most hurt eyes a puppy can have. Have you seen a hurt puppy once, Niall? And do you want to be the cause of that look, Niall?’

Louis is playing dirty. Fuck you Louis. ‘Don’t you have a life to live? You have a week off and yet you’re here every day.’

‘Oh Niall Horan, I’m here every day because what’s a day without having made fun of your petty little crush?’ He bites the last of his cone and wipes his hands on his shorts instead of using the napkin I gave him.

‘It would be a great day, thanks and I do not have a little crush.’ I glare at him with the most intense eyes I can manage. He doesn’t seem impressed though.

‘Alright, true I’ll give you that...’ He smiles and thank y— ‘you have a giant crush.’

‘You’re a tit, Louis Tomlinson. I want you out, now.’ There’s no real heat behind my words but he hops off the stool anyway.

‘Alright, sorry for interrupting your gazing time.’ He grins and struts towards the exit, opening the door to leave warm, humid air in. ‘Oh, and I forgot,’ the door closes again as Louis walks back to the counter, the smile on his lips promising no good. ‘I told Harry you deliver and he’d like a mocha frappuchino.’ He puts two pound fifty on the counter and his smirk gets bigger. ‘I’ve got to go now, ciao.’ He walks away without another look and I’m too stunned to protest. Louis knows we don’t deliver. Dick.

Great. Fuck. What do I do know? I have Harry’s money and I can’t keep that without giving him his coffee so I either make his coffee or give him his money back and either way involves talking to Harry. Unless... unless I call one of those bike boys and tell them to deliver Harry’s coffee and no. That’s just plain stupid isn’t it?

I rinse the blender and get some ice before I add two shots of espresso, milk, sugar and chocolate syrup. I let the noise of the blender disturb my thoughts for a minute before I hit back to reality, pour the drink in a to-go cup and shake the whipped cream. Would Harry even like whipped cream? He did give me two pound fifty so that would include whipped cream. Oh screw it, I might as well go all out and drizze a bit of chocolate syrup over it and a bit of cinnamon powder as well. I put the lid on top and stick the red straw through the hole. C’est magnifique.

Christ, I’m actually going over to Ice Cream Wonderland right now. I’m actually going to hand this coffee to Harry in person. I am actually petrified.

I grab my keys and untie my apron, leaving it on the stool behind the counter while my heart hammers in my chest because I’m Niall Horan and I don’t leave a good impression for guys I might fancy. The warm air outside hits me like a brick wall and well, at least that’s a good excuse for my red, warm cheeks even though it’s not even a fourty second walk to across the street. I turn the sign from open to closed and lock the door. Nobody would probably come in but still, if there’s one thing my dad taught me it’s to never leave your shop unattended.

People in the street seem happy, sitting on the benches outside in the sunshine or on Ice Cream Wonderland’s terrace. There are kids with dried up ice cream around their mouths and parents trying to clean their faces and there are people sharing their ice cream and looking in love. It’s one of these rare sunny days here in London and everyone seems to be soaking up the rays. It’s really busy at Ice Cream Wonderland, there’s a line but nobody seems to mind waiting. The ice cream must be that good then, huh. I wonder if I could cut the line to hand Harry his coffee and leave or if I should wait not so patiently. I grew up being a polite boy and I don’t think my dad would be very proud if I’d use my shoulders to get past everyone so I wait.

It takes a minute or two until I can actually step inside and right there is Harry, beautiful gorgeous Harry. His hair is in a bun, making his jawline more prominent and his cheeks are slightly red. He’s got a tea towel slung over his shoulder and he’s wearing a polo with the shop’s logo printed on and—holy shit! He’s almost got a full sleeve of tattoos on his right arm and I’m not a tattoo kind of guy but damn that looks sexy. He’s helping his customers with a smile that seems so genuine, making the young girls taking their cones fall half in love with them. And I really can’t blame them.

There’s another guy helping and Jesus maybe the people don’t come for the ice cream but come for the two boys running the place because that boy’s got a face on him it’s unreal.

‘Hi, hey! Excuse me?’ Oh no. I have only heard him talk once but the slow, low drawl is unmistakable. ‘Can I help you?’ Harry caught me staring at face boy. Think I pretty much aced this second impression as well.

‘Sorry,’ I mumble, feeling my face grow hotter every millisecond. I slowly turn my face to see that I actually have to look up quite a lot to face him.

‘That’s all right, we’re not used to the heat, are we? Everyone is a little slow today.’ Harry says and he’s smiling. Great, he has dimples too.

‘Yeah.’ Great answer Niall, you’re nailing this.

‘So, what can I get you? Today’s special is cherry with disco dip, only one pound!’ He says and he seems so excited about it that I have to bite my tongue not to order five.

‘I eh, I actually came to give you this.’ I try to keep my hand steady as I put the frappuchino on the counter. ‘It’s mocha.’

Harry does look like a puppy, not a hurt one, thankfully, but a happy one. ‘You’re a life saver, honestly.’ He takes a sip and I want to be the straw. His lips are, for a lack of better word, amazing. ‘This is brilliant. I’ve been working without a break since eleven this morning and you could not have come in a better time.’ He takes another sip and please kiss me.

‘Okay so I’ll—‘ I jerk my thumb towards the exit, unable to even finish my sentence.

‘Wait!’ He nearly shouts. It grows quiet in the shop and I feel all eyes on me. Awesome, I just love attention. ‘How much do I owe you?’ Harry asks a bit quieter then and people start to mind their own business now they know I didn’t try to steal anything. Well, except for Harry’s heart but it’s not hard to see how that is turning out.

‘You—nothing?’ He already paid, did he forget?

Harry’s eyes get a bit wider, just like his smile. ‘Oh, well let me make you something then.’ He puts his coffee behind him and starts scooping various colours of ice cream in a cup, topping it off with a dollup of whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. He sticks a spoon into it and sets it on the counter. ‘You just tell me what colour you liked best when you come around next time and use your free coupon alright?’ He winks. Oh my good lord. I can only nod dumbly. ‘See you around, Bobby.’

Bobby?

I’m already on my way out, of course not correcting him because why would I? How could I? I’ve not said one proper sentence so how on earth could I say ‘Oh, it’s not Bobby, that’s my dad. My name is Niall, hi nice to meet you.’ Yep, the answer is not.

 

It’s only two days later until I see Harry again and it’s not by choice. Not my choice anyway. I’ve come down with a cold yesterday because of course the weather changed drastically and it’s now pouring outside for a good day and a half. My nose is runny and red. My lips are dry and painful and my head feels like it’s full of snot. It’s a great day to be out of bed and at work really.

The bell above the entrance jingles and I look up to greet the new arrival but the hi gets stuck in my throat and yep, that’s a coughing fit coming up already. I hurriedly move to the back to cough my lungs out and dry my watering eyes before I go back out front, already forgotten the reason why I got that coughing fit in the first place because seeing Harry sit at the counter makes my heart stutter.

He’s not wearing his work shirt but instead he chose for a flimsy button-up not even halfway buttoned and oh more tattoos on his chest then. His hair is down, mostly swept to one side and tucked behind his ear. He looks like he came straight out of a copy of GQ. Except for his pale cheeks and bloodshot eyes that are looking right at me, questioning.

Third impression, in the pocket.

‘Sorry?’ I apologize sheepishly, both for staring and for not having heard what he said.

‘I asked if you’re all right,’ he repeats himself and his voice is hoarse and quiet.

  
I’m not all right, no. Not with the way you’re looking at me like I’m going to break right in front of you. He might have a point with that though, my bones already felt weak when I stepped out of bed this morning but they feel like rubber now.

‘Fine, I’m fine.’ I tell him, another cough rumbling in my throat.

‘You’ve got a cold too then?’ He asks and sniffs. That explains his unhealthy but still great looking face then. I wish I would look even twenty percent like that while being sick.

‘Yeah...’ I shrug and rub at my eyes.

‘Me too. Zayn sent me home. Can you believe him? He basically kicked me out of my own shop.’ He coughs into a hanky and rubs his nose with it. ‘Business was slow today anyway, not many people fancy getting ice cream on a dreary day like this.’

‘It’s more of a coffee day.’ I tell him and hey, my first actual sentence to him. Hurray to that.

‘It is indeed.’ He scans our variety of beverages written on the chalkboard behind me and hums.

‘I’d like a ginger tea please.’

I go to work right away, partially to get his order up as soon as possible but mostly because that gives me an excuse not to look at him. It’s not a lot of work because I’ve been making myself a huge pot of ginger tea, finished barely two minutes before Harry came in so basically all I have to do is pour the tea in two mugs—wait. ‘To go or drink here?’

‘Drink here please,’ he answers and I continue pouring.

‘I promise you it’s fresh, I just made a pot for myself.’ I explain as I put Harry’s mug in front of him. ‘Milk, sugar and honey are right over here by the way.’ I point at four small baskets on the counter. ‘And spoons.’

‘Thanks,’ he smiles but takes a sip from his plain tea, curling his lip into his mouth only a second after as he sets his tea down. ‘Hot.’

‘Yeah.’ Back to being talkative I see.

‘So, eh Bobby, I like your shop. I like that Friends poster a lot. And the sofa.’ He turns around to gesture what he’s talking about but I know of course. Friends was a huge inspiration for me to open this shop actually. I wanted it to be as cosy as Central Perk and I think I managed it quite well.

‘Thank you.’ This should be the time to correct him, right? ‘Not Bobby though. Niall is my name. I’m Niall.’

‘Oh.’ His pale cheeks rosy up a little. ‘I called you Bobby twice now. I’m sorry I just assumed—cause I see you opening and closing the shop a lot so I thought this was your shop...’

I chuckle a bit at that, bad idea because I get another coughing fit. This one not as bad as the first one, thankfully. ‘This is my coffee shop. Bobby’s my dad, I named the place after him.’  
‘Oh,’ he says again and it seems like my awkwardness is contagious. ‘It really suits the place. Does he come around often?’

Sensitive topic. I take a big gulp of my now lukewarm tea and shake my head. ‘He passed away. Two years ago last month.’

‘Shit, I’m so sorry.’ Harry covers his mouth with his hand, looking extremely guilty.

‘You didn’t know, Harry, it’s okay.’ He shakes his head but drops his hand. ‘The only way you could have known is if you would have been to the men’s room. There’s a picture of him on the wall there with his date of birth and the date of his passing. It’s a great picture, him on the set of Friends, sitting on the sofa in Central Perk pretending to drink coffee. He was so happy there that after he passed away, I kept thinking of our week together in New York and how he made us do the Friends tour three times. It’s the happiest I’ve ever seen him and I wanted to have that memory forever so I opened this shop and yeah...’

‘That’s the best thing I’ve ever heard,’ he rasps. ‘Shit no, I didn’t mean it that way I just meant—the thought behind this place is beautiful.’

I can’t help but laugh a little. ‘Thank you.’It’s silent for a while then and I help a couple of new customers until Liam comes in and takes over. I refill my mug with ginger tea and silently ask Harry if he wants some as well by raising the pot. He nods and hands me his mug.

‘I’m really sorry still. And I’m sorry for not talking after your basically let me into a huge chunk of your life. I just didn’t know wheter to continue talking about your dad or if to switch subjects and if so to what subject because I couldn’t just randomly talk to you about the weather which we both know is shit anyway.’ He rambles and even that he manages to make sound slow.

‘The weather is shit.’ I agree and he laughs loudly, going into a coughing fit of his own.

‘For someone who has lived in England for all of his twenty-one years I handle weather changes quite badly.’ He shakes his head to himself and takes a large gulp of tea to settle his throat.

‘I’m from Ireland myself but same, really.’ Hey, since when did talking to Harry become so easy?

‘Ah, thought I heard an accent. My ex-boyfriend is Irish so I recognize an accent like that from a mile’s distance.’

Ex-boyfriend!

‘Oh. Where exactly was he from?’ Casual, Niall. Well done.

‘I’m not sure. Only dated him for a little while and copied his accent. I like doing accents but the only way I can do one is if I copy it so don’t be insulted if I imitate you, okay?’ He sounds a bit unsure of himself and that’s something I would never have imagined happening when I stared at him from afar, watching how confident he seems in his shop.

‘I’ll take it as a compliment then?’ I try to put him at ease a little and he smiles a little.

‘Yeah, you definitely should.’

 

Harry becomes a regular after that day and orders a different coffee every day. He doesn’t actually like tea much but back home is mum always made him ginger tea when had a sore throat. It’s like magic, he told me a couple of days ago.

It’s actually sunny outside again and so there aren’t many people craving a coffee. Except for Harry who has now hired two part-time workers so he and Zayn the face can manage a break or even one or two days off. Today is one of those days that Harry gave himself the day off. Zayn is running the shop with the two newbees today and Harry is confident they’ll manage.

‘Zayn has been there from the start five months ago. He knows as much as I do.’ Harry says, not interrupting his game of solitaire.

‘I hate leaving Louis and Liam in charge. I call in every couple of hours to see if someone picks up so I know the place isn’t burnt down.’ I tell him and he laughs. ‘Louis called me once to ask what to do if there are sparks coming from the espresso machine. It was a joke but I was so close to firing him. He’s lucky that he’s my best friend or else I would have left him to rot in the gutter.’ Harry has met Louis and Liam a couple of times now so he knows how to the two of them can be. Especially Louis because one the first day that Harry came here when Louis was on his shift, Louis tried to throw ice cubes in Harry’s almost unbuttoned shirt.

‘Yeah, I wouldn’t be sitting here relaxed if I had someone like Louis looking after my shop.’ He places the last card, king of spades, on the right deck and cheers. ‘Who is the solitaire master? That’s right, I am the solitaire master.’ He does a little dance on his stool for a good ten seconds before he almost falls down. ‘Whoops.’

‘Who is the master of clumsiness? That’s right, you are.’

‘Heyyyy,’ he drawls out. ‘I’m not that clumsy. I’m just out of balance a lot.’ He pouts with his bottom lip jutting out and my heart melts a little.

Over the last month and a half, my innocent little crush has grown to a full-blown butterfly paradise in my stomach. Besides being drop dead gorgeous Harry is also funny and the kindest person I’ve ever known. He actually is the guy who helps old ladies stand up when he sees them struggle and the guy who runs after people when he sees they forgot their phone or wallet or even something silly as a pen. Some of the regular older ladies even seem disappointed when I tell them Harry isn’t here today.

‘You’re just lucky you’re charming.’ I tell him. ‘Because no one likes to be hyper alert all the time because wow, if I don’t keep an eye on him he’ll fall on me.’

Harry flicks his straw at me and I wipe a few droplets of his caramel frappuchino off my face. ‘Some people would love me falling on them. Or for them I don’t know. I think Megan, this girl I hired has a crush on me.’

‘Ohh, get in there.’ I grin at him to mask the dagger through my heart.

He actually glares at me this time. ‘I’m really not interested...’ he pauzes. ‘I told you about my ex-boyfriend, didn’t I? I’m gay?’ I’m sure it’s not meant to come out as a question. He looks like he doesn’t know what to expect from me so I put the guy out of his misery.

‘You did tell me about him. You could have been bisexual though.’ In my head I’m doing a happy dance. Harry might not fancy me but he doesn’t like girls so that’s less chance for him to get in a relationship and so less chance for me to have my heart shattered into a billion pieces.

‘I’m not. I’m a guys only type of guy. My sister says everyone knows because my wardrobe choice is too obvious.’ He shrugs. ‘But I guess not then.’

‘I don’t think you dress “gay” to be honest.’ I say, air-quoting gay. ‘You just dress so there’s not a lot left to anyone’s imagination. I reckon I see your nipples more often than mine really.’ As soon as the words leave my mouth I realize my mistake. Now he knows I look at his nipples. Great.

‘All four of them?’ He smirks and wait what?

‘Four?’

He doesn’t hesitate to let his brightly patterned shirt slide down his shoulders. ‘Yeah, see? One, two, three, four.’ Oh yep. There are four of them already. Two normal ones and two smaller ones, one lower than the other. I’m not sure if I wanted to know that. I thought maybe if I found a flaw I wouldn’t be so hung up on him anymore. Turns out I don’t care because two extra nips or not, I’m slightly falling in love.

‘That’s... great Harry.’ I swallow down a lump in my throat and try to busy myself with nothing.

‘They keep my butterfly company.’ He thankfully puts his shirt back over his shoulders but like normal he doesn’t bother buttoning it up. ‘Hey, I totally forgot to ask, what was your favourite colour ice cream?’

Ah distraction! Thank you!

‘I liked the white one. That counts as a colour, right? I just like lemon ice cream.’

‘Not the yellowy one with the dots? That one is my favourite. It’s passion fruit.’

‘Louis didn’t lie when he said you have every fruit in ice cream flavour, did he?’ I snort and Harry  
looks a little offended.

‘No he did not. We make our own ice cream. Did you know that? So our flavours change quite a lot. I like mixing it up and I like to try different kind of fruits. We do have your standard flavours like chocolate, vanilla yada yada but fruit. People don’t often go for blue grape ice cream but they don’t know what they’re missing out. It’s why we have our specials every day and it’s why the special of the day is so cheap. To make people try new things.’

‘Broading people’s horizons, you’re a man of dreams, Harry Styles.’ I pretend to fake swoon but I’m actually actually swooning. Even in my head I sound like a teenage schoolgirl when I say he’s so dreamy.

‘Oh stop with all the flattery, you make me blush.’ He ducks his head and covers his cheeks, looking up at me through his lashes. He laughs then, unable to keep up his act.

Business suddenly picks up then and I realize it’s already a quarter past five and the after work rush starts. I call Liam from the back to help me out front and together we help everyone until it’s time to close to shop at six. Maybe one day I’ll leave to shop open at night until eight or nine or so but not until I’m able to properly hire someone with responsibility. Someone who isn’t Louis who keeps pranking me or Liam who gets so lost in finding new recipes or discovering a new brand of beans that he forgets he has customers to help.

‘Bye Mrs. Hollis, I’ll see you across the street for an ice cream one of these days yeah?’ Harry holds the door open for the seventy-something year old lady and kisses her cheek. She pats him on the arm and leaves with a smile.

‘Oh I get your tactics, mister Charming. You woo the knickers off the old ladies so they buy your fruity ice cream.’ I turn the sign to closed and lock the door. Harry never left his spot where he let Mrs. Hollis out so we’re awefully close and I want to bury my nose in his collarbone but I don’t.

Harry grins at me and winks. ‘I won’t tell if you won’t.’

It’s then that Liam notices Harry. ‘You still here, mate? I could have sworn I heard you come in at like two or something.’

‘Niall needs company of people who are under sixty too, Liam.’ Harry smiles bashfully. ‘I now get why Niall doesn’t let you in charge. You noticed me but you didn’t come out to say hello.’ He pouts with that damn plump bottom lip that leaves my knees a little wobbly.

‘I would be nice if I were you because Niall might be the one making your coffee but I’m the one creating them. That’s right, I’m the coffee brain.’ Liam defends and I’m glad he takes his job so seriously.

‘My apologies Liam, please accept my peace offering by agreeing on a free ice cream of choice next time your come to the shop.’ Is he flirting? Is Harry flirting with Liam? He can’t. He shouldn’t. Liam is straight, has a girlfriend I would be jealous of if I liked girls. It’s for his own good will if Harry didn’t flirt with Liam.

Liam taps his chin to make it look like he thinks about it. ‘I accept but only if I get sprinkles as well.’ Liam can’t be flirting back. You have a girlfriend Liam. Girl-friend. You’re not interested in boys, especially not in Harry.

‘You have yourself a deal.’ They shake hands before I put Liam on toilet duty. What? They need cleaning too.

 

‘Did you know,’ Harry starts a couple of days later. It’s a little past six after a slow day and I’m happy to clean up for the day. Harry adjusts the scarf on his head, it was a thing he did two years ago he said and he’s trying to see if he can make it work again with his longer hair now. It looks nice actually. Never would have thought I could be into a guy wearing headscarfs. ‘Did you know that it’s been two months since I first came here?’ I did know that actually. I’ve all but marked that day on my calendar.

I wipe down a table in the back. ‘Has it been that long already?’ I play it coy.

‘Hmhm, it has. And you know what’s strange? That I still don’t have your number.’

‘Because you give your number to all your regulars?’ The table is clean now but if I get closer he might notice the playful spark in my eye I’m sure I have.

Harry splutters. Didn’t see that one coming did you? ‘No but I thought—‘ I see when he finally catches up with my banter as his eyes turn into slits. ‘You’re having me on.’

‘I am.’

Suddenly I get all the air knocked out of my chest as Harry forcefully slings me over his shoulder and throws me with my back on on the sofa. If I weren’t as shocked as I am I would have had inappropriate thoughts. I look up at him, anticipating his next move when the ends of his scarf slip past his shoulder and into my face. I take this as my chance to snatch it off his head and slip off the sofa and run to the front of the shop. ‘Look at me, I’m Harry and I’m wearing a scarf with skulls on it. I’m so scary.’ I try to tie it around my own head but Harry’s caught up with me before I can even get the knot out.

‘Look at me I’m Niall. I make people swoon with my baby blue eyes.’ He mocks, backing me up against the counter.

‘Look at me I’m Harry and I can charm everyone into doing everything I want.’ I stick my tongue out, unsure of what else to do. I’m literally pressed up against the counter. Only an inch our two between my body and Harry’s and my head is spinning.

‘Is that so?’ He raises an eyebrow, the corner of his lips turning upwards. He looks oh so pleased by that. ‘So I can charm you into having dinner at my place tonight?’ He takes a step back, giving me space and air. He doesn’t look so playful anymore.

‘You already have.’ It’s true and I hope it sounds a little flirty.

‘Ace. I’m making a fruitsalad, smoothies, apple soup and—oh my god Niall I’m joking!’ He doubles over with laughter. ‘Look at your face!’ He slaps his knee, nearly falling over.

‘You’re not funny.’ To be honest, he got me good.

‘I think I am.’ He wipes at his eyes. ‘Okay, what do you say about take-away pizza and a movie? I promise you I can actually cook but I’ll safe that for a later date, deal?’

Date? Date as in day or date as in this-might-lead-to-kissing? I’m not asking because that’s stupid especially if he means date as in a different day. ‘I’ll hold you to that.’

‘Please do.’

‘But instead of pizza, lets take the left-over muffins and scones or are you really hungry?’ I’m not. Coffee makes me full and I’ve had quite a couple over the day.

‘No, that sounds great.’

 

We eat our “dinner” on our way to Harry’s flat, which is only a couple of streets down from our shops and it’s safe to say that the inside looks better than the outside. Harry toes off his shoes by the front door and I follow his example. The tiny hall has three doors that probably lead to the kitchen, bedroom and living area. He opens the middle door and I’m greeted by for a guy’s standards a rather homey living room with pictures on the walls from what I assume are his family and friends. A comfy looking two-seater and two chairs placed around a coffee table on the wooden floor. But for someone who wants to watch a movie I notice the lack of a television.

‘Harry?’ He re-enters the room, pocketing his phone in his back pocket with one hand and holding two beer bottles with the other. ‘Where’s your television?’

He sets the beers on the table in front of the two-seater and plops down, leaving room enough for me to sit down next to him. Turns out that I wasn’t wrong about how comfortable the sofa looks. Harry reaches under the sofa and comes back up with a laptop. ‘I only have a TV in my bedroom but I have netflix on my laptop.’ He opens the lid and I snort seeing his background picture is a strawberry. ‘Only you.’ I settle more into the cushions and find myself more relaxed than on my own sofa.

‘Anything you want to watch?’ Harry settles a little closer so his leg is pressed up against mine and slides the laptop on both of our legs.

‘I don’t mind, as long as I don’t have to think too much, I’m a little tired.’

Harry scrolls through the comedy section and clicks on 21 Jump Street. ‘This one?’ I nod and he presses play. ‘I actually enjoy watching Channing Tatum quite bit.’ And ouch. What do I say to that?

‘He’s quite fit.’ Not as fit as you.

‘Yeah.’ Harry sighs. ‘Okay, so what I usually do is I put the laptop on the armrest so I can lie down with my back against the other armrest.’ I shuffle around a little so I’m exactly like he described. ‘Yes, like that.’ He puts the laptop on the other armrest and squeezes between me and the backrest. I’m this close to falling off the sofa when Harry grabs my wrist and tugs my arm around his waist so my body turns automatically with it. His other arm snakes underneath me until I feel his hand on my back. ‘You can put your head on my shoulder. If you want.’ His voice is a little above a whisper and I do as he says with a pounding heart. ‘Comfy?’

‘Very.’ I reply quietly, afraid my voice will give my nerves away. I don’t know if this is Harry how he is with all his friends or if he’s not used to having a friend over but this isn’t how I’m with my friends though I’ll happily make Harry my only exception.

About half an hour into the movie I’m drowning in Harry’s scent and lulled to sleep by Harry’s steady breathing.

I wake up from a loud crash and the flash and another loud rumble seem to wake Harry up as well. The movie had ended and Netflix is recommending us to watch 22 Jump Street. ‘What time is it?’ Harry mumbles sleepily and my hear lurges. I squint at the computer screen.

’10.30.’

‘PM?’

Oh poor little sleepyhead. ‘Yeah, PM.’

He mumbles something incoherent and seems to be drifting off again when there’s another flash followed by thunder. ‘Oh ‘s thundering.’

‘It is.’ I sit up, wriggling out of his arms despite my thoughts telling not to.

‘Not going home.’

‘I have to,’ the word babe sitting heavy on the tip of my tongue.

‘I disagree. You cannot go, I forbid you.’ He slings his arms around my waist to hold me in place.

‘You forbid me?’ I look behind me to see he has his eyes closed. His hair is a complete mess of tangled curls and my fingers itch to run through it.

‘I do.’ He opens his eyes then and catches mine. ‘Please stay.’

The urge weave my fingers through his curls is undoable so I just go for it. ‘I’m not scared of the thunder and my flat isn’t that far from here.’ His hair is a little greasy but he lets out a pleased hum so I continue combing his hair with my fingers, scratching him a little here and there.

‘I just want you to stay.’ He says, eyes slipping shut again. ‘Maybe I’m scared of the thunder and need somebody to hold me.’

I doubt that. ‘Really?’

He sighs, his warm breath going through my shirt. ‘No to the first part, yes to the last part?’ His arms leave my waist as he sits up as well, bare feet hitting the floor. He even has a tattoo on his big toe. What is this guy? Unique, that’s what he is. ‘I have a question.’ He tangles his fingers together.

‘Go ahead,’ I urge him on. The longer I sit next to a warm, sleepy Harry, the more I want to stay and never leave.

‘Who would you like breakfast in bed by? Mila Kunis or Ashton Kutcher?’

Too tired to even laugh at him for this stupid question I just answer, ‘Ashton Kutcher.’

‘Brad or Angelina?’

‘Brad.’

‘Emma Stone or Andrew Garfield?’

‘Andrew.’

‘David or Victoria Beckham?’

‘David. Harry I—‘

‘So you do like blokes.’ He states and yes. Duh. ‘Me too.’

‘I know you do, Harry.’ A flash lights up his face and even with bags under his eyes he’s still the most beautiful human being I’ve ever met.

‘What does a guy have to do get you to kiss him?’

Oh wow, ho stop, hold your horses. ‘Who are you asking this for? Because you can say I’m not interested.’

‘I figured,’ Harry’s face falters. ‘I thought I could try anyway since I fancied you the first time I walked into Bobby’s and saw you standing behind the counter. I thought I made it too obvious that I found you attractive and that that’s why you shut me out. But then you walked in at work and gave me that mocha frapuchino without charging me for it so I thought maybe I could get you to warm up to me. Which you did and I flirt with you all the time or at least I try to and then you said yes on coming here with me and yes to another date but—‘

‘You fancy me?’ He fancies me? He likes me? Is he serious? Am I hearing this correctly? Did Louis set up some sick joke?

‘A lot.’ He nods, head in his hands and I don’t think he’s joking. Harry Styles is actually into me. Holy shit.

‘I like you too, Harry.’ Ohhh I’ve said it. Nothing I can do about it now. Oh God Oh God Oh God.  
His head shoots up, mouth dropped open. ‘Really?’

Would he still like me if I cried from happiness? ‘Really, like an awful lot. It’s why I barely spoke to you. I get all shy and awkward and stupid when I find a guy hot.’

‘You think I’m hot?’ I can actually see him swallow, his adam’s apple bobbing up and down. ‘You’re not shy anymore around me.’

‘That’s because you practically forced me to talk to you and then I realized that you’re really easy to talk to which led me to liking you even more and—‘

‘I think I need you to kiss me now.’ Harry interrupts and yes, I agree. I should kiss him, we should kiss. Do I still know how to kiss? No biting, yet, no clashing teeth, no bumping noses, not too much spit.—oh.

Harry’s mouth is wonderful when he talks but it’s brilliant when he kisses.

**Author's Note:**

> It's really late and it's not fully looked over for mistakes. Sorry for that.
> 
> Hope you liked it. Kudos and/or comments appreciated if you enjoyed! x


End file.
